BJP leader Prakash Bajaj, on whose complaint journalist Vinod Verma was arrested from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh in a case of alleged blackmailing and extortion, today said he had not been "missing" as speculated but had gone out of the city for a family function.
Bajaj, a resident of Raipur, had filed a police complaint, alleging that Verma was trying to extort money from him.
Based on the complaint, the journalist was arrested by the Raipur police from Ghaziabad on October 27.
Verma had, after his arrest, said he was in possession of a "sex tape" of a Chhattisgarh minister. On October 31, he was sent to judicial remand till November 13 after three days of police custody.
In his complaint, Bajaj had alleged that he was being "harassed over the phone by an unidentified caller", who told him that he had a "CD of his master".
After the journalist's arrest, the "sex-video", allegedly involving Chhattisgarh's PWD Minister Rajesh Munat, surfaced in Raipur. Subsequently, Bajaj could not be traced.
Talking to PTI, the BJP leader denied that he had been "missing" for over a week and claimed that he had gone out of Raipur to attend a family function and that his mobile phone was switched off during the period.
He said certain people thought he had gone missing as his mobile phone was switched off.
"However, my social media accounts were active during the period," Bajaj added.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)